This invention relates generally to the field of controlling and tracking access to various types of objects, and in its most preferred embodiments, to integrating an electronic identification code and tracking system to continually inventory a plurality of objects.
Many objects have intrinsic value of their own or have value because they enable access to other valuable objects. For instance, jewelry and coins have intrinsic value due to the value of their precious stones or metals, automobiles have intrinsic value due to their ability to provide transportation, and files of business information have intrinsic value due to the content of the information contained within the files. Due to their intrinsic value and the potential for theft or misuse, jewelry, coins, and files are often kept in lockable storage cases or cabinets, while automobiles have their own door, trunk, and ignition locks. Because keys to the locks enable access to such objects, the keys, themselves, have value as well. Other objects may be inherently dangerous or create legal liability because unauthorized use of such an object can create a safety hazard for others. For instance, explosives and many medicines are inherently dangerous if used or dispensed improperly by untrained individuals. Also, unauthorized use or copying of keys to apartments or hotel rooms can enable theft of personal valuables and can create personal safety hazards to tenants and guests.
Regardless of the source of an object""s value, its dangerous nature, or its potential for creating legal liability, business owners, landlords, and hotel proprietors have sought, over the years, to restrict access to the above-described objects, and others, by limiting their access to only those individuals who require access to the objects in order to perform their job functions. Typically, access has been restricted by first placing the objects in a lockable container for which a limited number of keys exist. Then, control over the removal and re-insertion of an object stored in the container has been maintained by employing manual procedural methods such as issuing keys for the container to only select individuals (i.e., usually managers or supervisors), requiring an employee or maintenance worker to request that a manager or supervisor provide access to the container for removal and/or re-insertion of objects from/to the container, and requiring the employee or worker to sign for any object removed and/or re-inserted from/to the container. For example, many automobile dealers place the keys to vehicles on their lot inside a locked box. When a potential customer desires to take a vehicle on a test drive, the customer""s salesperson requests that a manager open the box so that the salesperson can remove the keys to the vehicle from the locked box. Similarly, many apartment landlords store the keys to tenants"" units in a locked container and require maintenance workers to request use of a key when it is necessary for them to enter a tenant""s unit to perform various maintenance tasks. Likewise, many hospitals provide only nursing supervisors with a key to a medicine cabinet and require other nurses to request that the supervisor open the cabinet to enable the removal of medicine for a patient.
Unfortunately, such manual apparatus and methods have met with limited success since they typically rely heavily on the thoroughness of humans to consistently follow designated procedures. Also, such systems are often fraught with the potential for misuse and abuse due to the dishonesty of some individuals and the inability of the systems themselves to detect possible misuse and abuse. For instance, once a salesperson or maintenance worker gains access to a key, the salesperson or worker may keep the key out of the locked container until the next day unless a manager or landlord reviews a log at the end of the day to determine which, if any, keys have not been returned to the locked container. By keeping the key overnight, a salesperson or cohort may steal a car (or items from a car) or a worker may return to an apartment complex during the night to burglarize a unit and, potentially, cause physical harm to a tenant. Additionally, by keeping a key out of the locked container for a longer period of time than necessary without the knowledge of a manager or landlord, the key may be copied or become lost by the salesperson or maintenance worker. The limited success and inherent problems of manual systems suggest the need for a system which automatically controls access to and tracks the use of various types of objects.
At least one automatic system has been developed and used in the past. The system employed a lockable container for storing objects which were each attached to a unique assembly identified by a conventional bar-code symbol printed on a tongue of the assembly. The container incorporated an enclosure and a drawer which, after unlocking, could be slidably removed or inserted into the enclosure, thereby creating relative movement between the drawer and a bar-code scanner mounted to the enclosure. When stored in the container, the tongue of each assembly extended downward through an aperture in a top panel of the drawer to enable reading of the bar-code for each assembly by the bar-code scanner whenever the drawer was moved relative to the enclosure. Because the bar-code scanner required relative movement between the drawer and the enclosure to function, the bar-codes associated with each object could only be read if the drawer was opened or closed. Therefore, the system had no way of detecting the presence or absence of an object unless the drawer was opened or closed, for example, by a manager or landlord. Thus, the system could not accurately track the amount of time that an object was not present in the container, nor could it determine who actually had possession of the object. Also, because the assemblies were not restrained and were therefore, prone to variable, random movement relative to the drawer and enclosure, misreads by the bar-code scanner were a continual problem requiring repeated openings and closings of the drawer to effect accurate reading of all of the bar-codes on the present assemblies. Other problems, including dust and dirt present on the bar-codes, also caused misreads by the bar-code scanner. Additionally, because the bar-codes were visible on the assemblies, they could be easily copied by an individual for the creation of substitute objects designed to xe2x80x9cfoolxe2x80x9d the system, thereby compromising the security supposedly provided by the system.
There is a need, therefore, in the industry for a system which controls access to and tracks the use of objects of various types which address these and other related, and unrelated, problems.
Briefly described, the present invention includes an inventoriable-object control and tracking system which limits access to an inventoriable-object, tracks activities performed related to the object, and automatically detects the absence of the object for an inordinate amount of time. More particularly, the present invention includes an inventory control and tracking system which couples an electronic device, having a unique identification code, to an inventoriable-object and interfaces the device to a remote controller through a novelly-designed interface to enable periodic, consistent, and accurate identification of the object""s presence or absence.
In the preferred embodiments of the apparatus of the present invention, each of a plurality of inventoriable objects is coupled to an object identification assembly having an electronic device mounted to an interface member of the assembly. The electronic device stores a unique identification code which is invisible to the eye, but electronically readable upon supply of a proper sequence of signals to the electronic device. By associating each inventoriable object with a different electronic device and, hence, a different identification code, the system provides a unique, trackable identification code for each object. Each identification assembly is receivable by a connector comprised of opposed, self-aligning, spring contacts having separate portions which independently deflect to insure and maintain consistent electrical interaction of the electronic device and connector. Each connector is one of a plurality of connectors which are electrically attached to a backplane with one contact of each connector being electrically connected to a positive data line and the other contact of each connector being electrically connected to a negative return line. The positive-connected contacts are arranged on the backplane in columns, while the negative-connected contacts are arranged on the backplane in rows, thereby defining a row and column matrix arrangement of connectors in which each connector has an associated row and column address and is independently, electrically-addressable from the other connectors of the matrix arrangement. The plurality of connectors and backplane are offset relative to panel which defines a polarized slot or opening aligned with each connector (the combination of a slot, or opening, and a connector being referred to herein as a receptacle) for receipt of an object identification assembly. The polarized design of each slot and opening enables receipt of an object identification assembly in only one orientation, thereby insuring that an identification assembly is always properly oriented for receipt by a connector.
The rows and columns of contacts are, in accordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention, electrically coupled to a local controller by flexible cabling which enables relative motion between the backplane and the local controller should such relative motion be necessary in a particular embodiment. The local controller includes an electrically addressable switch which controls the supply of electrical power to most of the electronic components of the local controller. The addressable switch has a unique address and must electronically receive its address before it allows the supply of electrical power to the remaining electronic components of the local controller, thereby minimizing the opportunity for unauthorized operation of the local controller. The local controller also includes row and column address decoding and access circuitry which enables the unique identification of and independent interaction between a remote controller and each of the plurality of connectors to allow reading of the identification code of an electronic device by the remote controller when the electronic device resides in a connector. The remote controller connects electrically to and communicates with the local controller, in a bi-directional manner, using a parallel computer interface commonly employed for communication between computers and printers. Signals, including output data from the electrical devices, are transferred through the parallel interface in a serial protocol instead of the parallel protocol typically employed for communication between most computers and printers. The remote controller includes a central processing unit and a storage device to enable receipt and storage of data from the local controller which is related to the presence or absence of an object identification assembly and, hence, an object from the backplane.
In accordance with the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, a backplane and top panel are rigidly positioned within a cavity of a drawer which is slidably mounted within a surrounding enclosure. The top panel is oriented to enable user access for the insertion and removal of object identification assemblies when the drawer is extended in an open position from within the enclosure. A flexible cable attaches electrically to the rear of the backplane and extends forward beneath the backplane where it connects to a local controller which is mounted to the enclosure. The flexing and routing of the cable enable motion of the drawer relative to the local controller without binding of the cable. The local controller connects electrically to a face plate connector, substantially similar to those mounted to the backplane, which resides in a face plate of the drawer. The face plate connector is accessible from the front of the drawer at all times for receipt of a personal identification assembly (i.e., an object identification assembly without a coupled inventoriable-object for use by a user to provide a unique identification code for the user) from a user. The local controller also connects to an electrically-actuated lock which is located at the rear of the enclosure cavity for interaction with and securing of the drawer when the drawer is oriented in a closed position within the enclosure and for release of the drawer from the enclosure in response to appropriate signals communicated to the local controller from a remote controller. A drawer switch, also connected to the local controller, is positioned to contact the drawer when the drawer is positioned completely within the enclosure and to indicate the position of the drawer (i.e., open or closed) to the remote controller. The local controller is additionally connected, via parallel ribbon cabling, to a pair of pass-through parallel port connectors (also referred to herein as data communication interfaces) mounted to and extending through the rear of the enclosure. One of the pass-through parallel port connectors receives a parallel cable extending to the enclosure from a parallel port of the remote controller, while the other pass-through parallel port connector receives a parallel cable extending from the enclosure to a printer. The parallel cable (also referred to herein as a communication link) extending between the enclosure and remote controller defines a plurality of parallel communication paths which enable the remote controller to communicate with the local controller and the various components connected to or a part of the local controller including, for example, the connectors, the addressable switch, the face plate connector, the electrically-actuated lock, and the drawer switch.
In an alternate embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, multiple enclosures are daisy-chainable together using parallel cables, serving as data communication links, which extend between the pass-through parallel ports (or data communication interfaces) of each enclosure, thereby causing the parallel ports and cables to function as a parallel bus. The enclosures of this alternate embodiment are substantially similar to the enclosure of the first preferred embodiment and, therefore, include components and elements substantially similar to those of the enclosure of the first preferred embodiment. For example, the local controller of each enclosure of the alternate embodiment includes an addressable switch having a unique address which enables an addressable switch and, hence, its local controller to be uniquely selected from those of other enclosures for operation by and communication with a remote controller.
According to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, each inventoriable-object of a first plurality of inventoriable-objects (for example, a vehicle ignition key) is coupled to an object identification assembly of a first plurality of object identification assemblies and each inventoriable-object of a second plurality of inventoriable-objects (different than those of the first plurality of inventoriable-objects and including, for example, a vehicle license plate) is coupled to an object identification assembly of a second plurality of object identification assemblies (different than those of the first plurality of object identification assemblies). A first backplane and a first plurality of connectors (substantially similar to those of the first preferred embodiment), attached to the first backplane and defining a row and column matrix arrangement of connectors, are positioned within a cavity of a drawer which is slidably mounted within a surrounding enclosure. The first backplane and first plurality of connectors reside near the front of the drawer""s cavity for receipt of object identification assemblies of the first plurality of object identification assemblies. A second backplane and a second plurality of connectors (substantially similar to those of the first preferred embodiment), attached to the second backplane and defining a row and column matrix arrangement having a single row and multiple columns of connectors, are positioned near the rear of the drawer""s cavity and receive object identification assemblies of the second plurality of object identification assemblies. The second plurality of connectors and second backplane are offset from a panel having polarized openings which are each aligned with a connector of the second plurality of connectors. Flexible cables connect the first and second pluralities of connectors to a local controller and, hence, to a remote controller which are substantially similar in structure and function to the local and remote controllers of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.
In accordance with preferred methods of the present invention, the above-described connectors receive a plurality of object identification assemblies with each connector receiving one object identification assembly which extends through an aligned, polarized slot or opening in a panel. The remote controller executes a plurality of software routines which communicate bi-directionally and serially with the local controller, via the data communication links and interfaces, to control access to and tracking of the plurality (or pluralities) of object identification assemblies received by the backplane (or backplanes). The software routines provide a plurality of functions including for example, but not limited to: addressing/selecting a local controller""s addressable switch to cause the local controller to become active (i.e., power up the remainder of its electronic components); reading the unique identification code stored by an electronic device of a personal identification assembly which is received by a face plate connector of an enclosure""s drawer; signaling a local controller, and its electrically-actuated lock, to release its drawer from its enclosure; requesting a local controller to return data which indicates the current position of its connected drawer switch and, hence, the position of a drawer; and, causing a local controller, after being activated, to uniquely address and read the identification code of the electronic device of each object identification assembly present in a connector of a row and column matrix of connectors coupled to the local controller. When directed by a remote controller to uniquely address and read the identification codes of the present electronic devices, a local controller outputs each identification code to the remote controller for further processing, including, for instance, logging of all removals and insertions (or replacements) of object identification assemblies (and, hence, inventoriable-objects), determination of the current location (slot or opening, and drawer) of each object identification assembly, and periodic checking to determine whether or not an object identification assembly is absent from the connectors of a backplane and if so, whether or not the object identification assembly has been absent for an inordinate amount of time. Note that the remote controller may request that a local controller read and output the identification codes of any electronic devices present in a connector matrix at any time (whether or not its associated drawer is open, partially open, or closed relative to its enclosure) and without requiring any movement, relative or absolute, of the inventoriable-objects, their coupled object identification assemblies, or their corresponding connectors, drawers, or enclosures.
According to the preferred method of the present invention, a face plate connector of a drawer receives a personal identification assembly in response to a prompt issued to a user and a remote controller, functioning in cooperation with the drawer""s local controller, reads the identification code stored by the electronic device of the personal identification assembly. Upon receiving a password from the user attempting to gain access to the system and verifying that the password is valid for the personal identification assembly received by the face plate connector, the remote controller prompts the user to identify the type of activity that the user wishes to perform on an object identification assembly (for example, removal of an object identification assembly from a drawer or insertion of an object identification assembly into a drawer). If the user indicates that he wishes to remove an object identification assembly from an enclosure, the remote controller prompts for and receives the identity of an object desired by a user for removal and then determines which enclosure, of a plurality of enclosures (if more than one enclosure is present in the system), stores the object identification assembly which is coupled to the object desired by the user. The remote controller next displays the slot or opening location of the object identification assembly (and, hence, the location of the desired object) relative to the other slots and/or openings in the enclosure""s drawer on a display screen shown by the system""s video monitor and causes the enclosure""s drawer electrically-actuated lock to be released by signaling the enclosure""s local controller to operate the lock mechanism. If, on the other hand, the user indicates that he wishes to insert (or return) an object identification assembly into an enclosure and if the system is configured to track multiple objects, the remote controller prompts for and receives input from the user which identifies the type of object to be received by a drawer. The remote controller then determines the location of one or more empty slots or openings in an enclosure, suitable for the type of object to be received, and displays the locations on a display screen shown on the system""s video monitor. The remote controller subsequently signals the appropriate local controller, via a data communication link and interface, to cause the electrically-actuated lock of the corresponding enclosure to operate, thereby releasing the enclosure""s drawer for insertion of the object by the user.
The remote controller, acting in conjunction with the local controller and in accordance with the preferred method of the present invention, repeatedly scans the backplane connectors to identify which object identification assemblies have been removed or replaced and logs the identification code of the removed or replaced assemblies along with the date/time, location of the assemblies, and the identification code read from the personal identification assembly received by the face plate connector (i.e., thereby identifying the user accessing the drawer). The remote controller also monitors the drawer switch to determine whether or not the drawer has been open for an excessive amount of time. If so, the remote controller sounds an alarm to alert someone to close the drawer. If not, the remote controller continues to scan the backplane connectors and continues to monitor the drawer switch until the remote controller detects that the drawer has been closed. Once the drawer is closed, the remote controller performs a final scan of the backplane connectors to identify and log object identification assemblies which are present in the drawer. The remote controller then processes the identification codes of the present object identification assemblies to make a final determination of which assemblies have been removed or inserted while the drawer was open, a determination as to which user performed the removal or insertion, and a determination of the date and time which identifies when the assemblies were removed from or inserted into the drawer. The remote controller subsequently determines whether or not any assemblies have been removed from the system for an excessive amount of time and, if so, issues an alarm to call attention to the missing assemblies.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to control access to and monitor activities related to a plurality of inventoriable-objects.
Another object of the present invention is to detect the presence or absence of an object.
Still another object of the present invention is to detect the presence or absence of an object without movement of the object or an interface member coupled to the object.
Still another object of the present invention is to detect the presence or absence of an object without movement of the object, or an interface member coupled to the object, relative to another component.
Still another object of the present invention is to detect the presence or absence of an object at any time.
Still another object of the present invention is to detect the presence or absence of an object with the object""s receiver in any position or orientation.
Still another object of the present invention is to rapidly locate a particular object.
Still another object of the present invention is to display the location of a particular object.
Still another object of the present invention is to suggest a storage location for the return of an object.
Still another object of the present invention is to log the removal and replacement of objects by the object""s identification code, the user""s identification code, and the date/time of removal and replacement.
Still another object of the present invention is to identify objects which have been removed for an excessive period of time.
Still another object of the present invention is to uniquely identify an object with an identification code which is difficult to copy.
Still another object of the present invention is to attach an object to an assembly which enables tracking of the object.
Still another object of the present invention is to interface an electronic device, having a unique identification code, and a connector to enable accurate, repeatable reading of the identification code from the electronic device.
Still another object of the present invention is to form a connector, for receipt of an electronic device, from opposed contacts having portions which deflect independently to insure electrical connection with the electronic device.
Still another object of the present invention is to form a row and column matrix of contacts from a plurality of two-contact connectors by electrically connecting a first contact of each connector to a row of the matrix and a second contact of each connector to a column of the matrix.
Still another object of the present invention is to individually address each connector to determine whether or not an identification assembly and, hence, an object is present.
Still another object of the present invention is to retrieve the identification code from each of a plurality of identification assemblies.
Still another object of the present invention is to enable bi-directional, serial communication between a remote controller and an identification assembly using a parallel communication path.
Still another object of the present invention is to control access to a plurality of objects by storing them in an enclosure and controlling access to the enclosure.
Still another object of the present invention is to identify a user who removes or replaces an object from the enclosure.
Still another object of the present invention is to supply a unique address to a local controller in order to activate and enable operation of the local controller.
Still another object of the present invention is to determine whether or not a drawer resides fully within an enclosure.
Still another object of the present invention is to release a drawer from an enclosure by operating an electrically-actuated lock.
Still another object of the present invention is to enable daisy-chaining of a plurality of enclosures in a parallel bus arrangement.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings.